Same-day Radioembolization for Large HCC

SIR-Spheres (SIRTEX): A mother vial containing ≥7 GBq is delivered to the hospital, and the treatment team divides it into daughter vials with specific radiation activities tailored to the target vessels. This allows for same-day TARE, in which lung shunt evaluation, vessel identification, dose calculation, and microsphere injection are all conducted on the same day.

This approach is referred to as same-day TARE.

To implement same-day TARE effectively, it is crucial to carefully select patients who are expected to have a low lung shunt fraction. This helps minimize the waste of pre-ordered SIR-Spheres vials that would otherwise go unused. Factors associated with a high lung shunt fraction include large tumor size, hepatic vein invasion, the presence of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), and dysmorphic intratumoral vessels. In patients with tumors larger than 5 cm, the lung shunt fraction is likely to be low if there is no hepatic vein invasion, no TIPS, and no dysmorphic intratumoral vessels. Therefore, by selecting patients without dysmorphic intratumoral vessels for same-day TARE, it is possible to avoid wasting SIR-Spheres vials and perform the procedure without delays in treatment.

Furthermore, by defining safe and effective dose ranges for lung dose, tumor dose, and perfused liver dose, a standardized TARE protocol can be established. Through this study, we aim to establish appropriate patient selection criteria for same-day TARE and to standardize TARE dosimetry.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma histologically and/or radiologically (LI-RADS 4 or 5)
• hepatocellular carcinoma 5cm or larger
• dysmorphic intratumoral vessels 3mm or smaller
• Child-Pugh class A
• ECOG 0 or 1
• the following lab should be met. A. Leukocytes ≥ 1,000/µL and ≤ 20,000/µL B. Hemoglobin ≥ 6.0 g/dL (transfusion allowed to meet this criterion) C. Total bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL D. Platelet ≥ 40,000/µL E. International normalized ratio (INR) ≤ 2.0 for patients not taking anticoagulants F. Aspartate transaminase (AST) ≤ 800 IU/L (i.e., ≤ 20X upper normal limit) G. Alanine transaminase (ALT) ≤ 800 IU/L (i.e., ≤ 20X upper normal limit) H. Creatinine ≤ 2.5 mg/dL (if patient is receiving hemodialysis, no upper limit of creatinine)
• Patients with a life expectancy of >3 mo
• Patients who have adequately understood the clinical trial and consented in writing
• Nonpregnant women of childbearing potential

Exclusion criteria

• hepatic vein invasion on CT/MRI
• Marked enhancement of portal vein or hepatic vein on arterial phase of CT/MRII
• TIPS
• dysmorphic intratumoral vessels > 3mm
• main portal vein invasion
• significant COPD or interstitial lung disease
• biliary stent or enterobiliary anastomosis